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Thursday, April 12, 2012

Chapter 10 - Issues of Reading Development
This chapter was very interesting and made me think of quite a few of the students I have taught over the years. When you get a child that is new to the US, you expect some difficulties in language acquisition but for some of those students who have been here longer and have developed "conversational language", you wonder if there is another problem when their reading and writing don't seem to be "on par" with speaking. I know I will look much more closely now and find out what kind of support they have at home and also if there is any print development in the child's first language going on in the home. I want to make sure that I can give every opportunity possible and use multiple strategies to help aid in the learning of English and hopefully a transfer or connections to their first language before referring for testing for Special Education.

Overall I have learned a great deal from looking at the SIOP model. I think it is a great structure for writing lesson plans even if you don't teach second language learners. The structure and ideas within SIOP lend themselves to bolstering the learning of all students not just ELLs. By highlighting certain components, really helps to remind you of what you want to teach and how you want to teach it. I still struggle some with the language objectives as they are a little more difficult to "pin down"and you can have a wide variance in language levels in one classroom. But it has really made me think when planning about making sure I tap into their background knowledge and culture to help build on something they already know. I have also tried to increase the amount of interaction in my classroom in small groups or with partners. Just in the past week I have seen students actively engaged discussing the content with one another and justifying their choices. Just providing them the time to talk has helped tremendously.

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Chapter 7 - Practice/ Application
This chapter talked about providing hands-on practice with new knowledge. this would be the output stage that shows that students actually received comprehensible input. Students need manipulatives and hands -on materials to aid in demonstrating understanding of new material. The manipulatives and/ or materials need to be used in conjunction with activities designed to apply both content and language knowledge. These activities need to touch all four of the language domains - reading, writing, listening, and speaking. The more students get to practice what they have learned, the deeper their understanding of both content and language will become. Practice, practice, practice. This does need to be done connected to the last chapter, whole group, small group, partner and individually.

Chapter 8 - Lesson Delivery
Teachers need to think not only about content objectives, but also about language objectives for students in the class. In today's schools, most students are grouped by grade levels and that is where the content objectives come from. However, not all students, even native speakers are going to be at the same level as far as language development is concerned. Teachers should make sure they are writing lessons that will maximize student based on current proficiency levels of those students. This can be done through grouping or modification of pace of input fore students so that all students can achieve success. Teachers also need to address the learning styles of students and try to plan activities that engage all learners. This is probably one of the toughest things to do, depending on the size of your class, as you could have lots of individual needs to try to meet within one class period.

Chapter 9 - Review/ Assessment
Review needs to be continuous and ongoing. Students need to use new vocabulary at least 20 times before it is committed to memory. But vocabulary should not be learned in isolation. This makes me think back to the chapter on building background. We need to link new learning to background experiences and bridge with previous learning. In doing this vocabulary is taught in a meaningful way. The more practice and application they get with that knowledge, allows them to continually review and challenge their thinking process and to use higher order thinking skills. Regular feedback both from the teacher and other students will aid children in understanding how well they are learning both language and content. Assessment should also be ongoing and include both formative and summative assessments.

Chapter 4 - Comprehensible Input
Krashen stated that the only way we really learn anything is by receiving a message that we can understand. When working with ELLs teachers need to try a variety of things to make messages understandable to those students. One of the easiest and most often overlooked is rate and complexity of speech. Just slowing down what you say can really help second language learners. Then based on their level of development of the target language, look at the complexity of the sentence structure you are using. Next teachers need to make sure that instructions are clear for tasks or activities. If a student does not understand the directions, there is little chance of them completing the task. Finally, make sure you are using all available resources to help in the understanding of the concepts or ideas. Preview vocabulary needed before content is taught. Use visuals (pictures, videos, realia, labels) and model when appropriate. Provide repeated exposure to newly acquired vocabulary, preferably in context. Graphic organizers are another great way to gather new information in a format to help in the understanding of that information.

Chapter 5 - Strategies
This chapter discusses the use of strategies to help recall and retain information. This can be used with all learners but is especially helpful for ELLs. We need to make sure students have plenty of opportunities to use strategies both in and out of class. But before they can do this we have to make sure they know "What is a strategy?", "How do I use it?", and "When and why would I use it?". We need to explicitly teach strategies and model when they can be used. After strategies have been taught, we are still going to need to scaffold the work. Students learn in different ways and at different speeds so we need to recognize this when planning. Providing repetition and reinforcement are ways to help students process what is being taught. Think-alouds are another way of modeling that allows students to see others actively using strategies. As you scaffold you want to make sure you are promoting higher order thinking skills. Not only do we want students to learn new vocabulary and concepts, but we also want them to make connections to previously learned information and to real world experiences. We want them to move from just recalling and remembering to being able to apply, analyze and evaluate what they have learned.

Chapter 6 - Interaction
Children learn better when they can actually apply what they have learned. For ELLs, this means they need to have lots of opportunities to use the language they are learning. Providing time for students not only to hear what is being taught but to discuss it with the teacher and others will allow for elaboration of concepts and will encourage those higher order thinking skills. The grouping you provide within the classroom can support this process. After teaching something whole group, you may want to reteach the same material in a small group to provide more exposure and opportunity to process the new material. Students could then move to partner work to continue to explore the material and process and analyze what they are learning. During both whole group and small group instruction, teachers need to make sure they provide "wait time" for student responses. Because of individual differences, all children should be given time to process and think before being required to provide and answer. Students need to interact with the language across all four modes of learning - reading, writing, speaking, and listening.